Contact: Valerie Connelly or Kurt Fuchs
(410) 269-0656        (410) 269-0081 – fax

No. 3  2/1/07
 

Hearings and briefings next week include:

HB 49 - Communications Towers - Zoning and Other Regulatory Approval - Adjacent Local Jurisdiction – Delegate Oaks
ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS, 250 House Office Building at 1:00pm
This bill prohibits a local jurisdiction from granting zoning approval to a communications tower proposed for a location that is 500 yards or less from the boundary of another local jurisdiction, unless the effected jurisdiction provides a written statement indicated that the tower also meets its zoning and regulatory requirements. MARYLAND FARM BUREAU OPPOSES H.B. 49.

H.B. 61 Mid-Shore Regional Council – Membership – Immunity – Delegate Eckardt
ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS, 250 House Office Building at 1:00pm
This bill makes corrections to the statute regarding the membership of the MSRC, to reflect the current makeup of the Council. The bill also provides that the Council is immune from being sued, which is consistent with the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland and the Tri-County Council for Western Maryland. FOR INFORMATION ONLY

S.B. 217 – Vehicle Laws – Special and Commemorative Registration Plates – Sunset Provisions – Senator Astle
JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS, 2 East Miller Senate Office Building at 1:00pm
This bill will extend the Motor Vehicle Administration’s Chesapeake Bay Commemorative Plate and the special registration plate honoring agriculture (Ag Tag) programs until 2013. They were scheduled to sunset in 2008. Funds generated through the sale of Ag Tags have helped support the Maryland Agriculture Education Foundation in their efforts to bring agricultural education to over 3,000 teachers and 150,000 students annually in Maryland.
MARYLAND FARM BUREAU SUPPORTS S.B. 217

H.B. 74 – Solar Energy Grant Program – Grant Awards – Delegate Krebs
ECONOMIC MATTERS, 230 House Office Building at 1:30pm.
This bill increases the amount of possible grant awards for the installment of solar energy production equipment. For residential property the award is raised from the lesser of $3,000 or 20% of the total cost, to the lesser of $20,000 or 50% of the total cost of the project. On nonresidential property the award is raised from the lesser of $6,000 or 20% of the cost of the project, to $60,000 or 50% of the total cost of the project. The award for solar water heating projects is increased from $2,000 or 20% of the total cost, to $3,500 or 50% of the total cost of the project. There are several projects underway in the poultry industry to utilize solar energy production to offset energy costs.
MARYLAND FARM BUREAU SUPPORTS H.B. 74.

H.B. 253 – Solar Energy Grant Program – Delegate King
ECONOMIC MATTERS, 230 House Office Building at 1:30pm.
This bill increases the amount of possible grant awards for the installment of solar energy production equipment. For residential property the award is raised from the lesser of $3,000 or 20% of the total cost, to the lesser of $4,500 or 30% of the total cost of the project. On nonresidential property the award is raised from the lesser of $5,000 or 20% of the cost of the project, to $7,500 or 30% of the total cost of the project. The award for solar water heating projects is increased from $2,000 or 20% of the total cost, to $3,000 or 30% of the total cost of the project. MARYLAND FARM BUREAU SUPPORTS H.B. 253.

S.B. 64 - Young Farmers Advisory Board - Termination Date – Repeal – Senator Middleton
EDUCATION HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS, 2 West Miller SOB at 3:00pm
This bill makes the Young Farmers Advisory Board (at MDA) permanent by repealing the termination date in current law. Under current law, the Board would expire on September 30, 2007.
MARYLAND FARM BUREAU SUPPORTS S.B. 64.

H.B. 47 Motor Fuel Tax - Exemption for Biodiesel Fuel - Government Vehicles – Delegate Hixson
WAYS AND MEANS, 130 House Office Building at 11:00am
This bill would exempt from the motor fuel tax biodiesel fuel (blends of at least 20%) purchased for use in county or municipal government vehicles, including school buses and passenger buses. This would help create demand for biodiesel, which is produced using soybeans.
MARYLAND FARM BUREAU SUPPORTS H.B. 47.

H.B. 76 – Solar Energy Tax Credit – Delegate Cardin
WAYS AND MEANS, 130 House Office Building at 11:00am
This bill would reestablish the solar energy tax credit program for projects implemented from July 1, 2007 through December 31, 2011. A similar bill was introduced last year and in 2004, however, this bill denies the credit to an individual or corporation that received a grant to acquire or install the same equipment under the state’s Solar Energy Grant Program. The credit is also increased from $2,000 to $3,000 for photovoltaic equipment and from $1,000 to $2,000 for solar water heating equipment. This credit was phased out in 2005. FOR INFORMATION ONLY

H.B. 124 – Tax Credit – Fuel-Efficient Vehicles – Delegate Cardin
WAYS AND MEANS, 130 House Office Building at 11:00am
This bill establishes a credit against the excise tax for fuel-efficient vehicles registered in MD between July 30, 2007 and July 1, 2011. The bill defines a “fuel-efficient vehicle” as a 3700 pound or less vehicle that gets 45 miles to the gallon or more and a heavier vehicle that gets at least 30 miles to the gallon. The bill provides a 100% excise tax credit for vehicles that get 60 miles per gallon or greater and a 50% excise tax credit for all other fuel-efficient vehicles.
MARYLAND FARM BUREAU SUPPORTS H.B. 124.

H.B. 110 – Maryland Comparative Negligence Act – Delegate Simmons
JUDICIARY, 100 House Office Building at 1:00pm
This bill provides that in an action brought to recover damages for negligence that resulted in the death of an individual, injury to a person, or damages to property, the fact that the plaintiff may have been contributorily negligent may not bar recovery by the plaintiff.
FOR INFORMATION ONLY
 

CONGRESSMAN GILCHREST TO HOST AG TOWN MEETINGS TO DISCUSS UPCOMING FARM BILL
WASHINGTON – As Congress gets ready to tackle a new Farm Bill this year, Congressman Wayne T. Gilchrest (R-Maryland-1st) will be spending some time in February and early March visiting farm operations and hosting meetings to hear from farmers about how the Farm Bill affects them.
“We want to talk with those people directly affected by the Farm Bill and hear their views on how it can be improved to help protect the family farm and keep agriculture viable here in the 1st District,” Gilchrest said.
Gilchrest plans to visit a variety of agricultural operations, including an organic community supported agriculture (CSA) farm, a grain elevator, a lumber mill, a greenhouse operation, a dairy farm, a new biodiesel facility planned for the Shore, and many other locations in counties across the 1st District.

Here are the dates/times for his Agriculture Town Meetings:
    Monday, February 12, 2007
10:30 a.m., The Talbot Ag Center, 10659 Hiners Lane, Easton, MD 21601
    Monday, February 26, 2007
8:30 a.m., Linkwood-Salem Volunteer Fire Company, 3905 Ocean GatewayLinkwood, MD 21835
7 p.m., USDA Service Center, 30730 Park Drive, Princess Anne, MD 21853
    Tuesday, February 27, 2007
8 a.m., Cecilton Volunteer Fire Company, 110 East Main Street, Cecilton, MD 21913
12 NOON, Maryland Cooperative Extension, Harford County Office, 2335 Rock Spring Road
Forest Hill, MD 21050
    Monday, March 5, 2007
1 p.m., The Arundel Center, 1st floor meeting room44, Calvert Street, Annapolis, MD 21401

JOHANNS UNVEILS 2007 FARM BILL PROPOSALS